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Winter Juniors qualifier Matthew Karasek has announced his commitment to swim for Pittsburgh beginning in the fall of 2026. He confirmed the news in an email to SwimSwam, writing:
I am extremely excited to announce my academic and athletic commitment to the University of Pittsburgh. I would like to thank my parents, friends, teammates, as well as my coaches, Tony and Bennet, for supporting me along my journey. I also want to thank Coach Michael, Coach Chase, and the Pitt coaching staff for giving me this amazing opportunity. I am excited to see what the future holds. H2P!
The Illinois native is wrapping up his senior year at Lake Park High School, where he swam for the varsity swimming and diving team all four years. Karasek also trains year-round with the Palatine Park District, primarily specializing in sprint freestyle and backstroke.
Karasek qualified for Winter Juniors for the first time this past December, where he made the ‘B’ final of the 100 back. He swam two best times on the day, first clocking 48.37 in prelims before going on to swim 48.12 for 13th place. He also touched 33rd in the 100 free (44.83) and 47th in the 50 free (20.59), both personal bests at the time.
At the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Championships in February, Karasek made a pair of ‘A’ finals, finishing sixth in both the 100 free (44.84) and 100 back (48.95). It was his best performance at the meet to date, as he was 11th in the 100 free the past two years, as well as 14th in the 100 back as a junior.
Just a week later, Karasek headed to the Illinois Senior Championships, where he raced to second in the 50 back (22.98) and 200 back (1:47.25), both new lifetime bests. He also branched out into some off events, taking third in the 200 IM (1:50.67), a PB by almost three seconds, and seventh in the 100 fly with a season best of 50.82.
Karasek closed out his short course season at last month’s NCSA Spring Championships, where he posted another string of lifetime best performances. He placed seventh in both the 50 free (20.32) and 100 free (44.42), taking down his December times. He was right on par with his bests in the sprint backstrokes, coming just off his PBs to place 13th in the 100 back (48.85) and 16th in the 50 (23.05). He also dabbled in some off events; he clocked personal bests of 49.87 in the 100 fly and 1:41.55 in the 200 free, finishing 51st and 63rd.
Over the past 12 months, Karasek has dropped over half a second in the 50 free, over a second in the 100 free, nearly two seconds in the 100 back, and over three seconds in the 200 back, a trajectory that bodes well as he prepares to make the jump to collegiate swimming.
Top SCY Times:
- 50 Freestyle: 20.32
- 100 Freestyle: 44.42
- 100 Backstroke: 48.12
- 200 Backstroke: 1:47.25
A Division I program, Pitt competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with the men’s team taking 11th out of 15 teams at the conference championships few weeks ago. To score at the meet, it took times of 19.46/42.67 in the 50/100 free and 46.71/1:42.39 in the 100/200 back, putting Karasek outside the cutoff in each of his top events.
On the team’s projected 2026-27 depth chart, factoring in graduations and other recruits, Karasek is slated to rank fourth in the 100/200 back, eighth in the 100 free, and ninth in the 50 free, bringing some added depth to the roster.
Joining Karasek in the pool this fall will be Lincoln Hofmann, who owns similar bests of 20.0 and 43.6 in the sprint free and 47.9 and 1:43.6 in back; Austin Sorg, who has PBs of 20.2 and 45.0 in the sprint free and also swims fly; and Cinco Perez, a distance free/IM specialist.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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